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Additional details on Seahawks' Jones, Trufant
August 19, 2009 9:20 PM
Posted by ESPN.com's Mike Sando
The uncertainty continues to grow for Walter Jones and the Seahawks' offensive line. News that Jones will require another knee surgery, this one arthroscopic, leaves the team with only two proven tackles for the immediate future.
That wouldn't seem to be enough.
Longer term, it's fair to wonder how much Jones has left at age 35. Back spasms were already preventing him from staying on the practice field. Follow-up knee surgeries can be fairly common, however, and the timing of this one -- 30 days before the regular-season opener -- could leave enough time for Jones to play a full season. The recovery period will not be known until team physician Dr. Ed Khalfayan performs the arthoscopic procedure Wednesday.
Jones experienced pain during practice Sunday.
For years the Seahawks could take Jones' excellence for granted. He could miss entire training camps during contract disputes, show up the Tuesday before the first game and dominate for a full season. Now the Seahawks cannot assume Jones will make it through a full week of practices, let alone a 16-game season, let alone while playing at a high level. But if the arthroscopic procedure alleviates the pain Jones was experiencing, it could serve as a final hurdle on his way to a near-complete recovery.
The news on cornerback Marcus Trufant's back might be more troubling. The disc injury that has sidelined him through camp is similar to what Matt Hasselbeck experienced last season. The difference is that the team knows the full nature of Trufant's injury from the beginning, whereas Hasselbeck's injury confounded specialists for several months.
The hope is that early detection could clear Trufant to return for the regular season or after the first six games if he remains on the physically unable to perform list.
August 19, 2009 9:20 PM
Posted by ESPN.com's Mike Sando
The uncertainty continues to grow for Walter Jones and the Seahawks' offensive line. News that Jones will require another knee surgery, this one arthroscopic, leaves the team with only two proven tackles for the immediate future.
That wouldn't seem to be enough.
Longer term, it's fair to wonder how much Jones has left at age 35. Back spasms were already preventing him from staying on the practice field. Follow-up knee surgeries can be fairly common, however, and the timing of this one -- 30 days before the regular-season opener -- could leave enough time for Jones to play a full season. The recovery period will not be known until team physician Dr. Ed Khalfayan performs the arthoscopic procedure Wednesday.
Jones experienced pain during practice Sunday.
For years the Seahawks could take Jones' excellence for granted. He could miss entire training camps during contract disputes, show up the Tuesday before the first game and dominate for a full season. Now the Seahawks cannot assume Jones will make it through a full week of practices, let alone a 16-game season, let alone while playing at a high level. But if the arthroscopic procedure alleviates the pain Jones was experiencing, it could serve as a final hurdle on his way to a near-complete recovery.
The news on cornerback Marcus Trufant's back might be more troubling. The disc injury that has sidelined him through camp is similar to what Matt Hasselbeck experienced last season. The difference is that the team knows the full nature of Trufant's injury from the beginning, whereas Hasselbeck's injury confounded specialists for several months.
The hope is that early detection could clear Trufant to return for the regular season or after the first six games if he remains on the physically unable to perform list.